Rock against Water
by Astranged Uchiha
Summary: Set ahead of the manga show, not really an AU since it's still possible. Rock Lee is confronted with the rejection of his true love, death of his mentor, and an impossibly hard mission. How can one man bear such burdens? R&R, please.
1. Default Chapter

Rock against Water  
  
By: Astranged Uchiha  
  
Rock Lee straightened his vest and let out a heavy sigh. It had been a year since he became a Jounin for Leaf, but he still hadn't gotten used to it. This past year had been hard on young Lee, having to deal not only with Haruno Sakura's utter rejection and the passing of Gai-sensei, Lee was now expected to deal with the responsibility of teaching and commanding others, with no time to deal with his building emotions.  
  
Perhaps, it was best that way. With constant reassignments and difficult missions, Rock Lee had no time to ponder. Pondering on the battlefield could mean death. Gaara of the Desert had taught him that much at least. The mere thought of that paticular incident caused Lee's right arm and leg to throb uncomfortably. Not very many things can cause Lee pain anymore, the most he'd gotten was uncomfortablitiy. The only thing that brought him pain was MAYBE Sakura, and the thought of Gai-sensei...  
  
"Lee-sama!" Came the shrill command voice of Shizune, right-hand woman of The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama. "The Hokage requests your IMMEDIATE presence, NOW!!!"  
  
Rock Lee nodded. "Of course, Shizune-sensei."  
  
Lee released another heavy sigh. The life of a Jounin, no off time at all. It made him wonder how Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi could seem so laid back and bored, or how the Invincible Beautiful Blue Beast of Leaf, Gai-sensei, who was...  
  
"Rock Lee!!!" Shizune yelled. "Are you coming, or not!?"  
  
"Rock Lee." Tsunade adressed him without even looking up from a file she was attentivly reading. "Please, take a seat."  
  
"Hokage-sama..." Lee spoke respectfully, yet firmly. "I'd prefer to stand."  
  
Tsunade glared up at him without lifting her head. "...so be it. I've been looking over your past preformances, and i must say that they're quite impressive..."  
  
"..." Rock Lee said nothing.  
  
Tsunade sighed heavily. She wasn't good at this diplomatic bullshit. "...Do you see what I'm getting at?"  
  
"You are saying my missions where successful. I'm aware of this fact and am awaiting future assignments." Rock Lee said, eyes cold.  
  
Tsunade sighed heavily again. 'Eyes are the gateways of the soul...is his soul to late to thaw?'  
  
"...Anything else, Hokage-sama?" Rock Lee asked, turning to leave.  
  
"Actually, there is." Tsunade snapped. "It has come to my attention that your exceptional skills might be put to better use than that of a mere Jounin."  
  
"...?" Lee pivoted to face her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Despite the fact that we are strechted thin as it is,..." Tsunade sighed. "If we allow our internal affairs to go unnoticied or unchecked, we become weak. Do you understand?"  
  
"...You're referring to a paticular event, aren't you?" Lee inquired, puzzled.  
  
"...I am." Tsunade said. "This next mission I'm offering you, is NOT a request from outside parties, but a direct request from ME, the Fifth Hokage."  
  
"...Hokage-sama,?" Lee was confused. "You've never 'requested' anything from me before. Are you commanding me or not?"  
  
Tsunade looked dead at him. "It is your choice to take this mission or not. The success rate for you is 12. ... Anyone else in the village would die."  
  
"Why me?" Lee asked.  
  
"If successful, I would be glad to promote you to Anbu-Leader, and would rely on you heavily. Are you prepared for such responsibility?"  
  
"...You're avoiding something..." Lee stated it as if it were a fact, not an opinion. "What is it?"  
  
Tsunade averted her eyes. "I will give you a complete case file as soon as you accept. Until then, ..."  
  
"Then I decline." Lee snapped. "Something's up, what is it..."  
  
Tsunade stood up, turning her back to Lee and gazing out across the beautiful view of Leaf. She sighed once again. "I'm asking you,... and you alone. You will recieve no help, not even from Anbu of the lowest rank. I can't spare anymore... I'm asking you to..."  
  
"...What?" Lee asked, starting to get worried.  
  
"I'm asking you to..." Tsunade turned, her fiendish eyes boring into him. "...massacre the Village of Hidden Mist. Leave noone alive. Slay them all."  
  
Lee was startled. "W-W-Why!? Why would we...?"  
  
Tsunade turned around, facing away from him again. "They are responsible for the death... no, the MURDER of Gai-sensei of Leaf."  
  
Lee was more than shocked. No words have been invented yet that can explain his emotion. He staggered out of the Hokage's office and wander the streets of Leaf in despair.  
  
Shizune took a step forward, bearing witness to the whole encounter. "Tsu..."  
  
"LEAVE!" Tsunade snapped, her back to Shizune, her shoulders squared. "Go now, and leave me be."  
  
Once Shizune left, Tsunade sank back down into her chair, a trembling hand covering her face. Two tears made a salty trail down her face.  
  
'Sometimes...' Tsunade thought. 'Being Hokage is shit...' 


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note

I swear, few things anger me more than when a document loader will not allow me to tab. grrrrrr If the indentions look off, that's why. Also, if there are minor typo's, it's because this was written with Notepad, and I do the best I can without spellcheck. Sorry everybody. R&R

Chapter Two:

Lee was in a daze. Gai-sensei MURDERED!? For a moment, Lee entertained the notion that the Hokage was merely using that angle to get him to agree to the assignment...

'But you told her that if she said you must, you would...' Lee ran it all through his mind. 'She could've simply ordered you to do it, and you would've! Gai-sensei...It should've been me, not you. Because you taught me, you devieated from your normal training routine...If not for me, you'd still draw breath...'

"That's not true." Came a young, sharp voice from behind. Lee turned to meet Sasuke's gaze.

"What's not true!?" Lee replied, feigning ignorance.

"I can get a pretty good idea what you're thinking from something as simple as your body language." Sasuke informed cooly. "There isn't much my eyes don't see..."

"The Sharangin..." Lee muttered. "Lucky you..."

"..." Sasuke took a seat down next to Lee. "...I know that as a Chunnin, and the fact I abandoned t his village once before, means that my word means little or nothing, but...You were the first person to beat me as bad as you did. All the other opponents I've foughten until now were at least a close match up, but not you. You beat me utterly... Until I ran into HIM..."

"..." Lee didn't know what to say, this was very unlike Sasuke...

"If not for knowing you, Lee-san, I wouldn't be half the ninja I am now." Sasuke stood up, and began to slowly trot off. "But the most important thing I stole from you Lee, was not Taijutsu." Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "It was... the ability to... never quit. I guess what I'm saying is that I'll get stronger as long as there are powerful ninja in the world, but you,... You Lee-san, are a self made ninja. That's a true genius."

And Sasuke, more remote now than ever before, vanished off into Leaf's forests. Lee had too many thoughts bouncing around in his head, and decided to go sleep this thing off, and deal with it on an even plane and clear mind.

On his way to his quarters, Lee bumped into a fellow Jounin, Haruno Sakura. Literally BUMPED into her, knocking her flat on her back.

"Sakura-sama!" Lee gasped, mortified that he'd knocked down his one true love.

Lately, any looks that Sakura shot his way were hateful and that of despise, but the only emotion reflected in her eyes now was, concern. "Lee-san, I... heard about your meeting with the Hokage..."

However, that was all that lay in her eyes, concern. No love or compassion. "I'm sorry I bumped into you Sakura, but I'm very tired and you'll have to forgive me for not talking longer."

Those concerning eyes filled his view. "Did you accept!? Will you do it!?"

Lee walked around, being very gentle. "I'll watch were I go, from now on, I apologize Haruno Sakura..." He trotted off, head down, ignoring Sakura's trailing words.

Something just wasn't right, there was something he should be noticing but just wasn't. Something tickling the back of his brain, just out of grasp. He shook is head.

'I can't think with such fatigue...' Lee thought drowsily. 'I need to sleep, then I'll face this with a clear view.'

Standing outside of the door to his barracks, was another Jounin, Nara Shikamaru. He was leaning casually against the wall, an annoyed look drawn upon his face. Shikamaru was known for avoiding people, so perhaps he'd let Lee go by without any...

"Lee-san..." Shikamaru said, his brow knitting together. "...may I have a word with you, please?"

Lee eyelids were heavy, and he didn't want to really have to deal with ANYONE right now, his mind was just too fatigued. "Excuse me, Shikamaru-san, but I'm too exhausted to talk right now..."

Lee tried to step, but found that his body was frozen, and he had no control over it. He looked down and saw that Shikamaru's shadow was connected to his feet.

"You listen to me whether you'd like to or not." Shikamaru said, his voice ringing with the tone of command. "...Lee, I've come straight from the Hokage with a small, yet essential revision of your mission parameters." Shikamaru informed. "You actual mission has changed,... Now it is a direct assassination on the Mizukage."

Suddenly, it hit Lee, out of the blue. "You...You knew, didn't you?" Lee gasped, his body still held in place with the Nara Clan's patented Shadow Bind technique. "You all knew. All of Konoha. Everyone, except me, knew that Hidden Mist assassinated Gai-sensei! Why!? Why didn't anyone tell me!"

'Why do I have to be the one to convey such a message? It is too troublesome...' Shikamaru sighed. "Think back to when Tsunade first told you to commit genocide. When she told you to murder innocent women and children. When you where ordered to crush young men's hopes and dreams, just like yours... Weren't you appalled? Weren't you disgusted? Think about how you felt right at that moment... Now, if you'd found out on your own what happened, and enraged, you went to seek revenge on your own, this is what you would have done. Then, in response, the Hokage would have to declare you a rebel nin, and you would live out the rest of your days in persucution. Ninja rule #14; No matter what, a ninja must control their emotions."

Lee staggered forward, released of the Shadow Bind technique. His eyes, full of tears, turned up toward Shikamaru, before he marched off to his room. Shikamaru released a heart felt sigh. Tsunade emerged from the shadows of the building.

"Good work, Shikamaru." Tsunade congratulated.

Shikamaru glared up at her. "...I can't wait until Naruto becomes Hokage."

Then he marched of. Tsunade watched him go, depressed. 'Neither can I, Shikamaru, neither can I..."


End file.
